I am pumped for the opening night of 2016/2017 Season of the Phoenix Symphony. Part of the strategy here at Think AZ is to think beyond just pop culture and facebook but to engage the community in a meaningful way. Really there isn’t anything else that is more engaging than a night with the family at the Symphony!

Seriously, Rachmanioff and Beethoven are one of my favorite composer. It’s going to be brilliant. And opening night will be on Sept 16, 2016! I also found out that my favorite piano moving company is giving a 2 tickets to opening night. I had a my floors redone this summer and needed to move and store my piano for the summer. I highly recommend that you find professional and experienced piano movers in Phoenix area who will move your piano safely and securely. Piano Movers HQ did a wonderful job and had one of the best rates in town! I highly recommend them.

Anyways, here’s a picture of awesome piano and a link to the opening night to buy tickets in case you don’t win the contest that Piano Movers HQ is giving away. Hope to see you on opening night!

Even with the advancement of today’s technology, there are still a lot of discoveries taking place in the past few years. Several studies have shown that we our world still has a lot to offer for its children to improve our knowledge and understand more the planet that we live in.

A discovery has been released when the scientists learned that fish can also recognize facial features. The said trait is seen with a tropical fish named archer fish.

This particular specie is a tropical fish that shoots jet of water to catch its prey above the water. in the tests that have been conducted by researchers from University of Queensland in Australia and University of Oxford in United Kingdom, the archer fish is trained to shoot one of the two pictures presented to it. As the experiment progresses, the researchers are now showing the learned face together with new set of faces and facial features. Surprisingly, the fish is able to choose the learned face with high accuracy of 86%.

The results have astonished the researchers as they previously thought that facial recognition requires a larger and complex brain just like the primates. Also, fishes do not have the part of the brains in humans that process facial recognition. In addition to their discovery, the fishes are able to recognize the learned face even though the researchers have changed several factors that made it more difficult to recognize a face, like color, head shape, etc.,

After observing the results of their experiment, the researchers said the fish’s behavior shows that a complex brain is not necessarily needed to recognize facial features but humans need it for quickly recognizing a large number of faces in a given time or place.

According to Dr. Cait Newport of Marie Curie Research Fellow in the Department of Zoology at Oxford University, “Fish have a simpler brain than humans and entirely lack the section of the brain that humans use for recognizing faces. Despite this, many fish demonstrate impressive visual behaviors and therefore make the perfect subjects to test whether simple brains can complete complicated tasks.”

Though facial recognition has been observed in the animals before like the birds, this discovery still astonished the researchers as birds actually have a neocortex-like part in their brains which processes the facial recognition. Neocortex is one of the major parts of the brain that vertebrates do not have. Also, the researchers believe that fish’s ability did not come from evolutionary process.

Chemistry is a mesmerizing discipline with endless of uncommon trivia! So here’s a list of some amusing and fascinating chemistry evidence for you.

Bromine and Mercury can turn into a liquid state at room temperature. They’re the only elements which carry this characteristic. Nevertheless, Gallium can be melt if you hold a lump in the warmth of one’s hand.

If there is any substance that can only expand as it freezes, that’s water. Water is just about 9% less volume than when it freezes into an ice cube.

A full glass of water level usually goes down when you pour a handful of salt into it.

The average adult human body had about 0.5 pounds or 250 grams of NCI (salt).

Unalloyed elements can have various forms such as a pure carbon that can form either or both diamond and graphite.

Dihydrogen Monoxide is the chemical name for water, H2O.

“J” is the only letter you can’t find on the periodic table of elements.

To stimulate public debate and enable bold problem solving by providing thorough, accurate and impartial research on Arizona’s key policy issues.

Serve as an independent and impartial information source in state public policy debates.

Produce studies in an understandable format.

Make public policy research and information readily available, including use of an informative website.

Take a comprehensive approach to the study of key public policy issues, recognizing such issues are often interrelated.

Seek out a wide-range of perspectives and present the most up-to-date, well-rounded research.

Develop new information where none exists and build upon the existing available knowledge.

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Arizona’s Dropout Rate On Par With Model State

PHOENIX— A study released today by the Arizona Center for Public Policy (ACPP) has, for the first time, developed an accurate and meaningful comparison of Arizona’s annual dropout rate. The study, compares Arizona and Texas – a state with similar student demographics, economic interests and the model state for the federal No Child Left Behind legislation.

Texas reports a 2001-2002 annual dropout rate of 0.9% for grades 7-12 while Arizona reports the same rate at 7.1%. After applying Arizona’s dropout definition and calculation, the adjusted Texas rate ranges from 5.2%-7.1%. Once the dropout rates are calculated consistently, the gap between the two states is either closed or is narrowed to 1.9%.

The study provides meaningful context to the discussion of how Arizona’s dropout rate stacks up with a peer state. The discussion is particularly relevant given the increased emphasis on school accountability systems and state comparisons.

Significance of ACPP study:

“The Chamber has learned very quickly that it is dangerous to compare dropout rates among states. It is clear that no two states define the problem or calculate the degree of the problem the same way. I am pleased that the Arizona Center for Public Policy has come forward to better define the problem and begin the search for the truth about dropout rates. Valerie Manning, President and CEO, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce

“The study underscores the importance of consistent definitions when comparing states. Arizonans will be happily surprised when proper comparisons are made,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horne. “The Arizona Department of Education is releasing the Graduation Rate Study in the coming days, which provides a more meaningful comparison with other states.”

“Dropout rates directly impact Arizona’s labor pool and are an important factor in whether or not businesses invest in our state. The study is important to the business community because we know, for the first time, how Arizona’s dropout rate measures up to a state that competes for the same business investments. We need more valid state comparisons to help Arizona strengthen its competitive position.” Jim Zaharis, Vice President, Greater Phoenix Leadership

The brief, entitled Oranges to Oranges: A Comparison of the Arizona and Texas Annual Dropout Rates, is available online at www.thinkaz.org